All-New 2018 Subaru Crosstrek: What You Need to Know

The Impreza Gets the Crossover Treatment

Take an existing model, raise the suspension, add some lower body cladding, and with a minimal investment, you have a new vehicle, often with greater sales appeal than the model on which it was based. That is what happened with the Outback, based on Subaru’s Legacy wagon, more than 20 years ago.

It then happened again with the introduction of the Impreza-based 2013 XV Crosstrek. That XV Crosstrek, now just Crosstrek in the U.S., took over for the Outback Sport in Subaru’s lineup. Last year the Crosstrek, with its bolder wheels and colors, outsold the Impreza by a nearly two-to-one margin.

With the redesigned 2017 Impreza now on sale, it should be no surprise that Subaru has been preparing a new Impreza-based 2018 Crosstrek. The best guess has it arriving late this summer or early in the fall. Here’s what we have been able to discover so far.

(Note: The photos in this slideshow feature the European-spec Crosstrek, which is called the XV.)

Exterior Styling

If you’ve seen the new 2017 Impreza hatchback, you have a good idea of what the 2018 Crosstrek will look like. Changes, in addition to the raised ride height, include an altered fascia below the front bumper and minor changes to the grille. There is, of course, extra lower body cladding at the front, around each fender’s wheel opening, and along the rocker panels. Unchanged from last year, the ground clearance remains at 8.7 inches.

Interior Highlights

Based on the Crosstrek unveiled at the Geneva International Auto Show, expect the interior to move up market. Highlights will include more soft touch surfaces, an available 8-inch touch screen for infotainment functions, and contrasting stitching for the upholstery that’s based upon the European model. Seat fabric is said to breathe better than the upholstery in the current Crosstrek, suggesting that before buyers get in their cars, they are expected to work up a sweat pursuing all those outdoor activities highlighted in Subaru’s commercials.

Roominess

As with the new Impreza, the redesigned 2018 Crosstrek will seat five passengers. Expect nearly 21 cubic feet of cargo room with the rear seat up and more than 55 cubic feet with the rear seat folded. Those are the specs for the new Impreza. Subaru is mum on comparable numbers for the 2018 Crosstrek, but expect them to be, if not identical, quite close.

The 2017 Crosstrek had 22.3 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats in use, and 51.9 cubic feet with them folded.

The wheelbase and overall length will be increased by about an inch while the width is up by about 1.5 inches. Subaru notes that these improvements in the Impreza produce a wider, roomier cabin. The same should hold for the new Crosstrek.

High Tech

Expect Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to be available, along with Subaru’s Near Field Communication connectivity option for easy wireless pairing with compatible smartphones. Keyless entry and push button start should be available, too.

The new Impreza offers Subaru’s Starlink infotainment system with Bluetooth connectivity. Expect nothing less in the new Crosstrek. Upgrades should include an infotainment system with the already mentioned 8-inch touch screen, navigation, voice control, and hands-free text messaging capabilities.

Under the New Sheet Metal

The 2018 Crosstrek will be based on Subaru’s new Global Platform architecture that debuted in the 2017 Impreza. Subaru, and reviewers who have driven the new Impreza, claim that this new platform improves agility and ride comfort. Subaru also says the new platform boosts crash energy absorption by 40 percent and body rigidity by 70 percent.

Reviews of the new Impreza may not directly reflect the performance of the 2018 Crosstrek, however. The higher center of gravity in the Crosstrek, a byproduct of the raised ride height, and the changes in the suspension this requires could affect ride and handling.

Under the Hood

The new Crosstrek is expected to use the Impreza’s 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. In the Impreza, this engine produces 152 horsepower while meeting Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (PZEV) requirements.

Unlike the Impreza, which is still offered with a manual as well as an automatic transmission, Crosstreks will come only with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that, in its manual shift mode, will be able to provide seven fixed forward gear ratios. This should help it avoid the obnoxious monotone engine drone on wide-open-throttle runs that is a characteristic of many CVTs.

Standard All-Wheel Drive

The Crosstrek will feature Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive. To improve its off-road capabilities, it will also have a traction and hill descent control system, though the new Crosstrek will still not be the best choice for tackling the toughest off-road trails.

On pavement, Subaru’s Active Torque Vectoring will help to sharpen steering responses and turn-in when cornering. Unlike systems that vary torque distribution through a differential, Subaru vectors the torque distribution by lightly braking the inside front wheel as you corner. This forces more power to the outside wheel. No fancy – make that costly – differential is required.

Safety

Subaru is promoting the extensive use of high-strength steel as one of the reasons for the improved crash energy absorption delivered by the body structure of the new Crosstrek.

Subaru will also offer its EyeSight camera-based system, with its semi-autonomous driving functions. These include adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, and forward collision warning with automatic braking. In Europe, the Crosstrek will have EyeSight as standard equipment. Subaru has not announced whether this will also be the case in the U.S. market.

Pricing

The new Impreza 5-door, on which the Crosstrek is based, starts at $18,895. Add the CVT, which is expected to be standard on the Crosstrek, and the starting price is $19,895. However, the Crosstrek’s standard features more closely mirror the level of equipment in the Impreza Premium.

The 2017 Crosstrek’s starting price ($21,695) was the same as the 2017 Impreza Premium’s price. Expect the same pricing structure to be carried over when the new Crosstrek arrives.

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